Tony Rizzo, host of The Really Big Show on WKNR-850 AM, recently talked about how an iconic hotel was closing. Being the experienced radio host he is, Rizzo didn’t name the hotel, rather he teased it … letting us listeners know he would be talking about it after the break. Well, I was in the parking lot of The Daily Record, where I work as a staff writer, and I was not going to wait until after the commercials. So, I Googled it. Come to find out, it is the Waldorf-Astoria.
Wendi, my wife and founder of this blog, gave a presentation during a conference in July 2016, and it was at the Waldorf-Astoria. For the two of us, we both grew up in homes with modest incomes, the opportunity to stay at the famed Waldorf-Astoria was an incredible treat. The place is historic, massive and majestic. A friend said most of the hotel had been converted to condominiums, but it was still impressive to stay there (even though a night there at the group rate was about what we would pay for a three-night stay when we travel).
As for why the hotel is closing “indefinitely,” more like a couple years, Business Insider reported:
Its suites have hosted every US president since Herbert Hoover, and Hollywood legends Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, and Frank Sinatra have all at different times called the residential towers home. Countless lavish social events were held in its ballrooms, and its kitchens were the birthplace of red velvet cupcakes and the Waldorf salad.
Last year the hotel celebrated its 85th anniversary, but it will close for at least two years for renovations on February 28.
Since 2014, when the property was bought from Hilton Worldwide by the Chinese insurance company Anbang for $1.95 billion, plans for a major overhaul have been on the horizon. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission is working to preserve parts of the interior, and Anbang has agreed to comply, Bloomberg reported in September. Though there are no blueprints to see yet, Anbang is reportedly planning to change most of the rooms into condominiums.
Wendi and I thoroughly enjoyed staying at the Walford. “It was cool to be in a historic place,” Wendi said. Further adding to the mystique was how it was an iconic place and has been featured and referenced in many movies, like “Serendipity.”
We found the staff to be very accommodating. It was nice to be treated almost like royalty. As soon as we would walk outside (on the Park Avenue side), a doorman would hail us a cab. Coming back, he would open the door of the cab. The hospitality was great.
This is sort of the second time a place we visited in Manhattan is closing, and we got there “just in time,” so to speak. The other place that closed permanently, was Carnegie Deli. You can read about our visit here. I am glad Wendi and I got to share this experience. We enjoyed our time in Manhattan so much, we are going back. This time to the Hilton Times Square (I wonder if Bruce Springsteen ever stayed there; we know he was at the Waldorf-Astoria).
If you find yourself in Manhattan a couple years down the road, go into the hotel and walk around the lobby and other spaces on that level, it’s like visiting a museum. We did and we’re glad.
